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More foreign leaders have called to congratulate Biden than GOP senators

10 November 2020
 Dan Ackermann

Five world leaders have called to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden — one more than the number of GOP senators who have publicly done so.

Why it matters: The refusal by top Republicans to accept Biden's victory and allow legal options to be exhausted could mean weeks of drama, and serve as a distraction from the work that is necessary to ensure a smooth transition of power.

  • As of Tuesday, only four Republican senators — Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), Susan Collins (Maine) and Ben Sasse (Neb.) — have congratulated Biden on his projected victory.
  • Many world leaders, meanwhile, are moving on and preparing to work with the president-elect.

What they're saying:

  • Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted on Monday that he and Biden are ready to pick up on their previous work together to "tackle the challenges and opportunities facing our two countries - including climate change and COVID-19."
  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Biden on Tuesday discussed plans to build on the U.S.-U.K. partnership in areas including trade and security through NATO, climate change and coronavirus recovery, per a news release from the PM's office.
  • Johnson also invited Biden to attend a UK-hosted climate change summit next year and conveyed his congratulations to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris for her historic achievement.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Biden for 10 minutes on Tuesday and said he was ready to work together on climate, health and the fight against terrorism, Reuters reports.
  • Biden conveyed his interest in reinvigorating bilateral and trans-Atlantic ties, including through NATO and the EU, the Biden-Harris transition said. Biden also also expressed his readiness to work together on global challenges, including security and development in Africa, the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, and Iran’s nuclear program.
  • German Chancellor Angela Merkel "expressed the wish for close and trusting future cooperation" on Tuesday, according to a statement from her office. Both Merkel and Biden acknowledged transatlantic cooperation as a priority.
  • TaoiseachMicheál Martin's call with Biden reaffirmed the president-elect's commitment to restoring relations between the U.S. and EU, as well as his support for the Good Friday Agreement to ensure "no return of a border" on Ireland, Irish broadcaster RTE reports. Biden told Martin he will sign the Paris Accord as soon as he is sworn in next year.

Worth noting: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the top U.S. diplomat, in a briefing on Tuesday stood by President Trump and his allies' claims that the election is not over, and that the president has the right to pursue legal challenges.

Go deeper: As Trump fights the transition in D.C., the world moves on to Biden

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.